Brentford returned from the second International Break of the season sitting tenth in the table after 12 matches ahead of a run of six matches in 21 days.

Before the end of October they would face trips to Wigan Athletic and Bolton Wanderers with a home game against Sheffield Wednesday sandwiched in the middle. The run of games started with a hard-earned point at The DW Stadium as Wigan Athletic, under former manager Uwe Rösler, held The Bees to a 0-0 draw. The Bees would be held to another goalless draw 72 hours later as Sheffield Wednesday took a share of the spoils from Griffin Park. The match against The Owls was the official celebration of the club’s 125th Anniversary but The Bees were thwarted by a stubborn Wednesday backline as they went looking for a birthday victory.

After back to back draws the week took a turn for the worst as The Bees went a third match without a win as they lost 3-1 at Bolton Wanderers. Neil Danns and Mark Davies had the hosts 2-0 ahead before Jon Toral pulled one back late on. However there was to be no dramatic equaliser as Craig Davies scored seven minutes into injury time to inflict a first defeat in four. A bad afternoon for Mark Warburton’s side got worse as it was revealed that Alan McCormack would be out for up to three months with an ankle injury picked up in the defeat.

In player news the end of October saw the duo of Charlie Adams and Josh Clarke join Sky Bet League Two side Stevenage on a one-month Youth Loan. Development Squad goalkeeper Mark Smith signed forms to join Ryman Premier side Hampton and Richmond Borough on loan for a month.

It was honours even Tommy Smith continued his recovery from a leg injury by scoring in the Development Squad’s 1-1 draw away at Birmingham City. Following the match Lee Carsley was instated as the club’s new Development Squad manager with Jon De Souza moving to fill the vacant Under-18s role after Jeremy Steele’s departure. Lee’s first game in charge saw him take Brentford to Crystal Palace but there was to be no dream start as the hosts ran out 3-1 winners. Louis Hutton was on the scoresheet for The Bees but the real positive came as Sam Saunders played his first 45 minutes on his return from injury.

Kingsley Eshun scored twice as Brentford maintained their lead at the top of the Under-18 PDL Two South with a comfortable 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest. However it was soon all change at the top for the Youth Team with Jon De Souza’s tenure as Youth Team manager getting off to a perfect start as Zain Westbrooke’s late thunderbolt settled the top of the table clash against Cardiff City in South Wales. Bradley Clayton’s penalty had cancelled out Lloyd Humphries earlier effort before Westbrooke’s stunning late effort.

In a match that showed just how far Brentford’s Academy had come the Under-16 were inches away from securing at least a draw in their prestigious set-piece friendly with Barcelona. Danny Buck’s side took the lead against the Spanish giants through Danny Parish only for the hosts to hit back twice before half-time. However The Bees totally dominated the second period but couldn’t find the way through that their play merited.

The club were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of legendary striker George Francis, who died aged 80. George was second on the club’s all-time leading goalscoring charts with 124 goals in 260 matches and formed a formidible partnership in the 1950's and 60's with Jim Towers.